Steve Sarkisian may have completed the almost impossible task of defeating Alabama head coach Nick Saban and Alabama, but he won’t let this one win define Texas’ season. No. 4 Texas will return home to Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium this Saturday to take on undefeated Wyoming.
From the beginning of the season, Texas head coach Sarkisian called the Alabama game a benchmark game, and while it was a big win for Texas, it’s not the team’s end goal.
“That one game isn’t going to define our season,” Sarkisian said. “Championship teams continue to improve as the season goes on, and we’ve got goals and aspirations of being champions this year. We’ve got to continue to improve this week, and that was the starting point here this morning.”
Texas jumped in the rankings, moving from No. 11 to No. 4. This is its first time in the top five since the 2010 season when it lost to Alabama in the BCS National Championship. For Texas to get back to national championship form, Sarkisian said there are on-field improvements that the team started working on on Monday.
In his third year as the Texas head coach, Sarkisian has instilled a level of confidence in his players that shows on the field. Against Alabama, he called plays aggressively and even called for some trick plays, one being a sophomore quarterback Quinn Ewers to junior wide receiver Xavier Worthy double pass.
“They are confident, and I think one of the mistakes I can make is trying to beat them down and then knock the confidence out of them,” Sarkisian said. “I’ve spent two and a half years trying to instill confidence into them, so I want to be mindful of that. But I have to point out areas for us to improve and where we can get better as a team.”
Wyoming is a new opponent for Texas, with the two teams last meeting in 2012. This year the Cowboys have already shown they can win against Power Five teams, beating Texas Tech 35-33 in two overtimes the first week of the season.
Worthy, who had five receptions for 75 yards and one touchdown against Alabama, touched on the importance of this game for Texas. As one of the offensive leaders, Worthy has been helping the team regain focus on its goals after the big win over Alabama.
“I feel like just telling everybody, ‘Forget about (Alabama),’” Worthy said. “Our main goal wasn’t to beat Bama for the season. Our main goal is obviously championship. We have Wyoming up next, and they just beat (Texas) Tech.”
On the defensive side, sophomore defensive back Ryan Watts also touched on the importance of staying focused against an opponent like Wyoming.
“You can’t get carried away from one win, and knowing that, we can’t get complacent,” Watts said. “Every team is going to try to come and ruin our parade, especially in Wyoming. Every game you have to be consistent and see every game is like (it’s the) Super Bowl.”
